Top 16 DAC Recruits of the 247 Composite Star Era

[temptation]

As promised...

16 DAC players (unless I missed someone) had a composite 247 rating of .80 or better which is a 3 star equivalent in today's ranking system.  Here they are ranked.

Enjoy!

1.  James Aldridge	RB	Merrillville	2006	0.9873	DAC
2.  Kenneth Grant	DL	Merrillville	2022	0.8842	DAC
3.  Cooper Jones	DL	Valparaiso	2021	0.8796	DAC
4.  Kurt Wermers	OL	Crown Point	2008	0.8769	DAC
5.  Jeff Samardzija	WR	Valparaiso	2003	0.8667	DAC
6.  JoJo Johnson	WR	Merrillville	2021	0.8647	DAC
7.  Martes Lewis	OL	Merrillville	2020	0.8639	DAC
8.  Gelen Robinson	DL	Lake Central	2014	0.8598	DAC
9.  Michael Neal	DL	Merrillville	2005	0.8556	DAC
10.  David Yancey	ATH	Lake Central	2013	0.841	DAC
11.  Albert Evans	RB	Portage	2008	0.8333	DAC
12.  Jeremiah Howard	WR	Merrillville	2020	0.8165	DAC
13.  Matt Ernest	WR	Crown Point	2007	0.8118	DAC
14.  John Hofer	OL	Valparaiso	2021	0.8099	DAC
15.  Dierre Kelly	DL	Merrillville	2021	0.8026	DAC
16.  Phil Gunn	OL	Merrillville	2021	0.8022	DAC

[DE]

18 minutes ago, temptation said:

As promised...

16 DAC players (unless I missed someone) had a composite 247 rating of .80 or better which is a 3 star equivalent in today's ranking system.  Here they are ranked.

Enjoy!

 

 

1.  James Aldridge	RB	Merrillville	2006	0.9873	DAC
2.  Kenneth Grant	DL	Merrillville	2022	0.8842	DAC
3.  Cooper Jones	DL	Valparaiso	2021	0.8796	DAC
4.  Kurt Wermers	OL	Crown Point	2008	0.8769	DAC
5.  Jeff Samardzija	WR	Valparaiso	2003	0.8667	DAC
6.  JoJo Johnson	WR	Merrillville	2021	0.8647	DAC
7.  Martes Lewis	OL	Merrillville	2020	0.8639	DAC
8.  Gelen Robinson	DL	Lake Central	2014	0.8598	DAC
9.  Michael Neal	DL	Merrillville	2005	0.8556	DAC
10.  David Yancey	ATH	Lake Central	2013	0.841	DAC
11.  Albert Evans	RB	Portage	2008	0.8333	DAC
12.  Jeremiah Howard	WR	Merrillville	2020	0.8165	DAC
13.  Matt Ernest	WR	Crown Point	2007	0.8118	DAC
14.  John Hofer	OL	Valparaiso	2021	0.8099	DAC
15.  Dierre Kelly	DL	Merrillville	2021	0.8026	DAC
16.  Phil Gunn	OL	Merrillville	2021	0.8022	DAC

Not going to lie....

I never heard of about 1/4 of these guys.

Edited January 4, 2022 by DE

[DACNUT]

I don't see Ryan Neal who plays for the Seahawks is not on the list, Also Braden Fiske from Michigan City who plays at Western Michigan. 

[Whiting89]

Just now, DACNUT said:

I don't see Ryan Neal who plays for the Seahawks is not on the list, Also Braden Fiske from Michigan City who plays at Western Michigan. 

Braden Fiske looked like a beast in the bowl game I can see a pro future in his career

[temptation]

10 minutes ago, DACNUT said:

I don't see Ryan Neal who plays for the Seahawks is not on the list, Also Braden Fiske from Michigan City who plays at Western Michigan. 

Neither were listed in 247’s composite rankings.

[Guest]

On 1/4/2022 at 3:18 PM, temptation said:

As promised...

16 DAC players (unless I missed someone) had a composite 247 rating of .80 or better which is a 3 star equivalent in today's ranking system.  Here they are ranked.

Enjoy!

 

 

1.  James Aldridge	RB	Merrillville	2006	0.9873	DAC
2.  Kenneth Grant	DL	Merrillville	2022	0.8842	DAC
3.  Cooper Jones	DL	Valparaiso	2021	0.8796	DAC
4.  Kurt Wermers	OL	Crown Point	2008	0.8769	DAC
5.  Jeff Samardzija	WR	Valparaiso	2003	0.8667	DAC
6.  JoJo Johnson	WR	Merrillville	2021	0.8647	DAC
7.  Martes Lewis	OL	Merrillville	2020	0.8639	DAC
8.  Gelen Robinson	DL	Lake Central	2014	0.8598	DAC
9.  Michael Neal	DL	Merrillville	2005	0.8556	DAC
10.  David Yancey	ATH	Lake Central	2013	0.841	DAC
11.  Albert Evans	RB	Portage	2008	0.8333	DAC
12.  Jeremiah Howard	WR	Merrillville	2020	0.8165	DAC
13.  Matt Ernest	WR	Crown Point	2007	0.8118	DAC
14.  John Hofer	OL	Valparaiso	2021	0.8099	DAC
15.  Dierre Kelly	DL	Merrillville	2021	0.8026	DAC
16.  Phil Gunn	OL	Merrillville	2021	0.8022	DAC

20-21 Merrillville was the most loaded team in DAC history according to these rankings.  Also played out thet way on the field.  Back to back to back semi state appearances, which seems to be a hard ceiling for any DAC school.

Edited January 5, 2022 by HHF

[temptation]

12 minutes ago, HHF said:

20-21 Merrillville was the most loaded team in DAC history according to these rankings.  Also played out thet way on the field.  Back to back to back semi state appearances, which seems to be a hard ceiling for any DAC school.

Not if they, MC and Valpo can remain in 5A and Cathedral isn’t a permanent fixture in 5A.

[DACNUT]

And Zionsville goes up to 6A where they belong. Also, looked up Braden Fiske in 2018 on 247 and he was the 15th rated prospect that year and the players rated lower than him were all over 80? He for some reason has no composite score. 

[temptation]

1 hour ago, DACNUT said:

And Zionsville goes up to 6A where they belong. Also, looked up Braden Fiske in 2018 on 247 and he was the 15th rated prospect that year and the players rated lower than him were all over 80? He for some reason has no composite score. 

I don’t see Zionsville as nearly the same obstacle as Cathedral.  But it’ll be a moot point.  

[BTF]

3 hours ago, HHF said:

20-21 Merrillville was the most loaded team in DAC history according to these rankings.  Also played out thet way on the field.  Back to back to back semi state appearances, which seems to be a hard ceiling for any DAC school.

History, for the sake of this thread, only goes back to 2002. From an outsiders perspective, 1992 was their best team ever. 

[Jon Scott]

Why is Dexter Larimore not on this list?

[DE]

36 minutes ago, BTF said:

History, for the sake of this thread, only goes back to 2002. From an outsiders perspective, 1992 was their best team ever. 

So so good that year. Imsc, Snider rolled into Demeree Stadium for SS. 

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, BTF said:

History, for the sake of this thread, only goes back to 2002. From an outsiders perspective, 1992 was their best team ever. 

Coach Wimmer mentioned that team in The HHF interview.  What are your recollections?

[BTF]

1 hour ago, HHF said:

Coach Wimmer mentioned that team in The HHF interview.  What are your recollections?

Semi-state. Snider's first real challenge of 1992. The game went to the wire with Snider scoring a late touchdown to win 14-7. Good defense that held the Panthers to their lowest scoring output of the season. Just a really stout team. Good running back. 

[BTF]

1 hour ago, DE said:

So so good that year. Imsc, Snider rolled into Demeree Stadium for SS. 

Spuller Stadium in Fort Wayne. Merrillville was 12-1 that year. Tied with the 2021 team for the programs best record ever. 

Edited January 6, 2022 by BTF
Additional wording

[DE]

2 minutes ago, BTF said:

Spuller Stadium in Fort Wayne. 

Thank you. I remember watching Merrillville play at Demeree Stadium in the early 90’s. I know I saw them play the Royce Roberson (went into Wisconsin as a RB IMSC) lead East Chicago Central. 
 

Did Snider ever visit Merrillville in the early 90’s for SS?  Maybe I just have the year wrong. 

[DE]

8 minutes ago, BTF said:

Semi-state. Snider's first real challenge of 1992. The game went to the wire with Snider scoring a late touchdown to win 14-7. Good defense that held the Panthers to their lowest scoring output of the season. Just a really stout team. Good running back. 

RB was Jamel Williams. Went onto Nebraska and was an important member of their Blackshirt Defense. He played SS/FS. 

I believe won a National Title with those Tommy Frazier lead Husker teams. 
 

Williams is likely most remembered for being in the first XFL “coin flip”. Actually was a fumble recovery drill. 

[BTF]

8 minutes ago, DE said:

Thank you. I remember watching Merrillville play at Demeree Stadium in the early 90’s. I know I saw them play the Royce Roberson (went into Wisconsin as a RB IMSC) lead East Chicago Central. 
 

Did Snider ever visit Merrillville in the early 90’s for SS?  Maybe I just have the year wrong. 

I don't think Snider's ever played a game in Merrillville. They hosted the Pirates in 2012 for semi-state. Snider won 42-39. I also thought Snider traveled to Merrillville sometime in the 90's. But my research shows otherwise. Just two meetings between these two teams. Maybe more to come with Merrillville dropping to 5a. 

9 minutes ago, DE said:

RB was Jamel Williams. Went onto Nebraska and was an important member of their Blackshirt Defense. He played SS/FS. 

I believe won a National Title with those Tommy Frazier lead Husker teams. 
 

Williams is likely most remembered for being in the first XFL “coin flip”. Actually was a fumble recovery drill. 

Yep, Jamel Williams. Stud. 

[DE]

8 hours ago, BTF said:

I don't think Snider's ever played a game in Merrillville. They hosted the Pirates in 2012 for semi-state. Snider won 42-39. I also thought Snider traveled to Merrillville sometime in the 90's. But my research shows otherwise. Just two meetings between these two teams. Maybe more to come with Merrillville dropping to 5a. 

Yep, Jamel Williams. Stud. 

Thanks BTF. 

On 1/4/2022 at 2:18 PM, temptation said:

As promised...

16 DAC players (unless I missed someone) had a composite 247 rating of .80 or better which is a 3 star equivalent in today's ranking system.  Here they are ranked.

Enjoy!

 

 

1.  James Aldridge	RB	Merrillville	2006	0.9873	DAC
2.  Kenneth Grant	DL	Merrillville	2022	0.8842	DAC
3.  Cooper Jones	DL	Valparaiso	2021	0.8796	DAC
4.  Kurt Wermers	OL	Crown Point	2008	0.8769	DAC
5.  Jeff Samardzija	WR	Valparaiso	2003	0.8667	DAC
6.  JoJo Johnson	WR	Merrillville	2021	0.8647	DAC
7.  Martes Lewis	OL	Merrillville	2020	0.8639	DAC
8.  Gelen Robinson	DL	Lake Central	2014	0.8598	DAC
9.  Michael Neal	DL	Merrillville	2005	0.8556	DAC
10.  David Yancey	ATH	Lake Central	2013	0.841	DAC
11.  Albert Evans	RB	Portage	2008	0.8333	DAC
12.  Jeremiah Howard	WR	Merrillville	2020	0.8165	DAC
13.  Matt Ernest	WR	Crown Point	2007	0.8118	DAC
14.  John Hofer	OL	Valparaiso	2021	0.8099	DAC
15.  Dierre Kelly	DL	Merrillville	2021	0.8026	DAC
16.  Phil Gunn	OL	Merrillville	2021	0.8022	DAC

Thank you for these lists Temp. 

[Tommy]

On 1/5/2022 at 10:44 AM, Whiting89 said:

Braden Fiske looked like a beast in the bowl game I can see a pro future in his career

Braden will graduate in spring of 2023.

[DACNUT]

 

19 hours ago, BTF said:

History, for the sake of this thread, only goes back to 2002. From an outsiders perspective, 1992 was their best team ever. 

Their 1991 team was better, they were upset by East Chicago Central, which also had a great team that year. Central was upset by Crown Point the following week on a crappy field. Both teams were full of All-State Players that year. The 5A All-State team was littered with DAC players. 

Great off-season topic.

Edited January 6, 2022 by DACNUT
update

[temptation]

29 minutes ago, DACNUT said:

 

Their 1991 team was better, they were upset by East Chicago Central, which also had a great team that year. Central was upset by Crown Point the following week on a crappy field. Both teams were full of All-State Players that year. The 5A All-State team was littered with DAC players. 

Great off-season topic.

Who was on that ECC team of note?

[Bobref]

35 minutes ago, temptation said:

Who was on that ECC team of note?

Was that the ECC team that featured Donta Smith? I believe he had committed to Tennessee, but somehow ended up at Ball State. Heck of an athlete and an outstanding linebacker.

[DE]

54 minutes ago, Bobref said:

Was that the ECC team that featured Donta Smith? I believe he had committed to Tennessee, but somehow ended up at Ball State. Heck of an athlete and an outstanding linebacker.

I think he was a few years later. 
Royce Roberson (Wisconsin) and Tom Lewandowski (something like that and IU). 

[Bobref]

1 minute ago, DE said:

I think he was a few years later. 
Royce Roberson (Wisconsin) and Tom Lewandowski (something like that and IU). 

You’re right. I looked it up. He played for BSU in their 2004 and 2005 seasons.